Masked Feelings
by dees1
Summary: Season 8 - Clark's head is still messed up from Lana's sudden departure, and his emerging feelings for Lois. During one of his night-time saves, he comes across a mysterious female superhero called Stiletto.  Drama follows...
1. Chapter 1

Pairing: Clark/Lois (Bluretto)

Spoilers: Starts at the beginning of Stilleto... but with a twist.

Plot: Season 8 - Clark's head is still messed up from Lana's sudden departure, and his emerging feelings for Lois. During one of his night-time saves, he comes across a mysterious female superhero called Stiletto. What he cannot work out is why he is so drawn to her...

A/N: This follows the Superman theory that glasses and masks can stop people recognising you, so you are going to have to suspend belief that Clark does not know that Lois is Stiletto

That was the fifth time Lois had pricked herself with the needle. She had come to the conclusion that her sewing skills were about as good as her cooking skills. Even so, nothing could dent her feelings of euphoria, after rescuing Chloe from the muggers. She wondered if the Blur felt like this every time he saved someone, if so he must have been constantly happy, going by the number of saves he was doing these days.

Lois had no intention of looking for trouble once she donned the leather outfit. It was a means to an end and the only ending she wanted was a one on one interview with the Blur, as she had renamed him. The Blur had been her number one goal as a reporter since he had burst on the scene six months ago, although she had a feeling he had been covertly saving people for a lot longer.

The suit had been straightforward but the mask was the problem – it kept falling down as the material was too flimsy. Then she remembered that Oliver had a few masks as she remembered his comment that he was unable to choose which one to wear for the charity ball held by Lex a few years ago. After all he was the Green Arrow.

Oliver was working in his penthouse when Lois arrived.

"Do you ever rest?" she smiled, as she came out of the lift.

"I have to go out and patrol soon." He replied as he grabbed a towel and headed over to the mini bar to grab some water. "Want one?"

Lois nodded and took a seat.

"So what can I do for you, Lois." He sat down in the chair opposite her.

"I need your help. I want an alter ego."

He looked at her in bewilderment. "What is wrong with the one you already have?"  
>"No, this is for a story. No doubt Chloe will have told you what happened the other night." Lois suggested.<p>

"Yeah she did...wait a minute, you are not thinking of adopting this Stiletto identity. Lois, the streets are too dangerous. Leave it to me and the Red and Blue Blur to deal with the criminals."

She shook her head. "You don't understand. I am not doing it to fight crime but to grab a one on one with the Blur. I need to know more about him."

Oliver sat back and pondered it for a few seconds, and his mind was coming up with crazy ideas. He thought back to the conversation he had had with Lois on the veranda after Chloe's wedding. The prodigal Lana had just returned and blown any chance that Lois had with Clark out of the water.

But now Lana had left Clark's life for good, unable to return due to the power suit. He wondered if this was his chance to make his friends happy.

At the moment, Lois and Clark's relationship was going nowhere. Neither was willing to let down their emotional guard and let the other one in. Oliver still loved Lois but he knew they were not meant to be together. She was an amazing woman and she needed to be happy; that's all he cared about. So he decided to give it a go and see what happened.

"Penny for your thoughts." Lois said, snapping Oliver out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something. So if I help you, you must promise not to start fighting crime. This is purely to get an interview with the Blur." Oliver explained, trying to think of ways to help Lois become unrecognisable to Clark.

Within a few hours, Lois was ready, or did he mean Stiletto.

"Are you sure no one will recognise me?" she asked doubtfully.

"Lois, trust me. I'm an expert. The hood and mask will stop anyone seeing who you are and the voice modulator in the hood will alter your voice beyond recognition.

Lois smiled and admired her new look in the full length mirror. "I make leather look good, don't I?" she smirked.

"Yeah you do."

"One question though – why is the mask lead lined?" Lois asked.

He knew he could not tell her the real reason, that the Blur would not be able to see through her mask using his x-ray vision. "It just makes it stay on easier." He lied.

"By the way how are you and Clark getting on?" he asked.

"Ok I guess...we are just friends. I realise now that I was stupid to think there was any more to it than that. I have never asked what happened between Lana and him, or why she left. She has left him twice now, so you never know he might be lucky the third time she comes back...she might stay."

"You don't like Lana much, do you?"

"I don't hate her, but it upsets me when I repeatedly witness the aftermath of her departures. Clark is destroyed every time and just when he manages to pick himself up again; she comes back, screws around with his head and leaves again."

"I agree with you." Oliver said, still feeling guilty that he had told Lana she should come to Chloe's wedding. In some ways this new matchmaking plan was his one shot at redemption. "I still think he needs you, Lois and one day he will realise that."

Lois sighed. "Well I won't be waiting around. Anyway back to the important topic – snaring my interview with the Blur. Do you think it will work?"

"Who knows, but if I was the Blur I would find it pretty hard to resist you in leather." Oliver grinned.

Lois just hoped that was true...

Clark had to admit his head was a mess. The only thing keeping him sane was his double life as the Red and Blue Blur; in fact he felt with every save that he was getting closer to the destiny Jor-el had planned all along. This secret life was like a breath of fresh air when compared to his complicated personal life.

Last month he felt like his whole life had gone back two years, shattering any chance he had of ever moving forward. Lois and he had grown close since Lana left the goodbye DVD and for the first time ever, feelings for someone other than his childhood sweetheart were starting to surface. He could not define what those feelings were – in fact he had been trying the past six months to work it out.

At the Chloe's wedding, there was a massive shift in his feelings for Lois, which resulted in them almost kissing. Then the roadblock...Lana had returned. Suddenly he was jolted back into his fairytale of living happily ever after with the girl who meant the world to him.

They started up their relationship as though she had never been away, only for the fairytale to be torn from him by Lex's twisted plans. It should have been the end of Clark's world but...he had spent the last month asking if it really was the end of his world. He still was figuring the answer to that question.

Chloe arrived at the Kent Farm looking for Clark. She had been working on something for a few weeks and she hoped he would go with it. After the flash forward he had experienced recently, he needed to change his look. For someone who wanted to remain in the shadows, the red and blue look was not the brightest of ideas for a colour choice.

"Have you been shopping?" He asked as she walked through the door struggling to carry the two massive shopping bags.

"I have been using Ollie's store card...with his permission of course."

"Where do you store all these clothes at the Talon, considering how many Lois has?" Clark smirked.

She put the bags on his sofa. "These are for you!" she replied.

"What...why? Lois has been trying for the past five years to get me to give up my obsession with plaid so this will not work."

"Clark, this is your work wear if you know what I mean. You told me how you would be vilified if people knew who you were. The red and blue has to go..." She reached in the bag and pulled out a black pair of jeans, a black tee and a short black leather jacket.

"Chloe, I never understood the Goth look."

"Clark, it doesn't matter if you like the look as long as it does the job of protecting your identity." Chloe replied.

He held the jacket up, and realised Chloe had come up with a valid point. "Ok...I will try it for a week, but if I don't like it I go back to my old clothes."

"Deal..." she shook his hand. One thing that puzzled her was how easily Oliver had handed his store card over. She was convinced he was up to something but she could not work out what.

He sped upstairs and less than a second later, he reappeared with his new outfit on.

"It's quite comfortable actually." He had to admit. "Ok, I'm going on patrol now so I will keep it on. Thanks for buying these for me." He smiled and then sped out of the door.

After a few hours, he thought about calling it a night, as it seemed pretty quiet. Just then there was a scream in the distance.

Lois had been prowling the streets with no sightings. It was a ridiculously crime free night, so she decided to head back to Smallville. Just then she sighted a woman walking on the other side alone, she was almost running, and seemed to be clutching her bag. A few steps behind her was a man following her. Lois headed closer to see what was going to happen. It did not take long for the man to grab the woman and try and pull her bag from her.

Lois shouted. "Hey...". The man turned around to see who was shouting. He looked at her with a smirk on his face and then pulled out a knife. Before he had the chance to react further, something blurred past him, leaving the man in a heap on the floor.

Lois went over to the woman. She helped her up. "Are you ok?"

The woman looked at her. "Thank you so much for saving me. Who are you?"

"It's no problem, all in a day's work." Lois replied, glad her modulator was switched on because it made her sound more authorative. "I'm Stiletto."

The police sirens ran out in the distance. Lois knew she had to get out of there and wondered which way she should run, but before she had a chance, she felt the ground disappear from underneath her feet. She then found herself standing in an alley with a dark figure less than ten metres away from her but hidden in the shadows.

Clark could not believe what he was seeing when he rescued the woman from the mugger. After he had taken the man out, he stood on a nearby roof ledge watching a figure dressed head to toe in tight leather attend to the woman. The leather left nothing to the imagination – and with a body like that, his imagination could run wild.

The police sirens interrupted his thoughts and he noticed the leather clad figure panicking about which way to go. He decided to help her get away from them. Now here he was looking at the mysterious woman, standing just yards away from him.

They stood looking at each other, both not knowing what would happen next.

Lois looked at the figure trying to make out what he looked like but the Blur was remaining in the shadows.

"Are you the Red and Blue Blur?" she broke the stalemate, reassured the voice modulator was working.

There were no words but she could just make out a slight nod of the head.

"Would you mind if I just called you the Blur especially as you seem to have done away with your red and blue outfit." She asked nervously.

Clark nodded again but was careful not to speak.

"If you're wondering, I am Stiletto."

He looked down at her feet but did not see any sign of heels, just long leather boots. In fact it was hard to tell where the boots stopped and the leather outfit took over. He was mesmerised.

Lois noticed he was looking at her boots. "I know it is a strange name but the stilettos kill me." She replied honestly.

Clark heard a gunshot in the distance. Lois heard it too. "I know you need to go but will you meet me here tomorrow night at 11pm. I want to talk to you again."

He nodded and then sped off.

Lois walked home, her heart still racing from her first meeting with the Blur. She had even surprised herself when she asked to meet him again

Clark stood on the Crow's Nest watching the city. The robbery was all sorted out in minutes and now he was just checking before he headed back home. He could not get Stiletto out of his mind. There was something about her, which drew him to her. He would never normally agree to meet someone as the Blur, but he found her request too inviting to refuse.

He had an idea. He sped to Oliver's penthouse. He had just got back from his patrol.

"Sorry to bother you Oliver. I just need to talk to you." He said as he left the lift.

"Sounds urgent!" He asked Clark to sit down. "By the way I like the outfit Chloe bought for you."

"Thanks for it."

"So what's happened. You don't normally visit me for advice." Oliver asked.

"I met someone on patrol tonight. Have you heard of Stiletto?" Clark asked nervously.

"Yeah, isn't she that leather clad girl who has decided to join the realms of crime fighting in Metropolis?"

"I have never heard of her, but I came across her tonight."

"What is she like?"

"We only talked a few minutes, or should I say, I only listened...she did the talking. She was...how do I put this...breathtaking."

Oliver was shocked. He had expected Clark to notice Stiletto, but not to this extent and not this quickly. "It seems like you have some sort of crush on this mysterious Stiletto." He laughed.

"Of course I don't." Clark suddenly became defensive. "I was just shocked to see her, that's all."

"So what advice did you want?"

"She asked me to meet her again tomorrow night, but this time I want to step out of the shadows and talk to her."

"Wait a moment, you want to reveal your identity." Oliver exclaimed.

"No of course not but I was wondering if you could lend me one of your voice distorters so I can have a conversation with her. It is going to be a bit one sided otherwise."

"Ok, I can do that for you, but it helps to have it attached to some kind of mask or hood."

Clark looked at him. "A hood? No way."

"Do you want to come out of the shadows, or not?" Oliver asked.

He paused for a moment. "Ok...I do, but it has to be black."

Half an hour later Clark was standing there with a hood attached to his jacket and dark glasses. "I will only use these if I see her. I think they will probably fall down when I super speed anyway."

He smiled and left excited by the planned meeting the following night. He walked into work the following day lost in his thoughts. Lois was sitting at her desk singing to herself.

"Hi Clark, how are you today on this fine morning?" she smiled.

"I am fine. I take it you had a maple donut for breakfast going by your chipper mood." He replied.

"No, just enjoying life at the moment. What have we got on today?" she asked.

"We have that conference at the Town Hall about the spending cuts and then the staff meeting with Tess this afternoon."

"It sounds like a thrilling day!" Lois grimaced, wishing it was tonight already.

The press conference seemed to go on forever. Lois found herself drifting off wondering what the Blur really looked like. She could see he was tall and well built, but then again he would be if he was a superhero.

"Lois, you can wake up now. It's over." Clark nudged her to pull her out of her daydream state. "Did you catch any of that?"

"No, but why do I need to bother? You will have everything written down."

"Hmm...I don't actually. For some reason I didn't take much notice. Guess I was lost in my thoughts." Clark replied.

"That's not like you. You must have something on your mind. Do you want to talk about it?"

Clark smiled. "No, it's ok. It's not important."


	2. Chapter 2

She walked to the phone box at the end of the alley and paused for a while. It had just struck her that he could be watching her from the rooftops.

Her heart was pounding with excitement, much like a teenage girl with her first crush. She had not felt like this...ever.

She turned around to see a figure in the shadows at the end of the alley. She approached him slowly taking in his obviously muscular form.

"Hello." He said, startling her.

She walked back a few steps unsure by this new development but then took a deep breath and walked forward.

"I am sorry I startled you." The Blur announced, obviously through a modulator.

"Its...ok. I just did not think you would talk to me." She stuttered.

"You're nervous! You have to admit last night's conversation was a little one sided." He replied.

"Thank you for coming." She got closer to him than she had been last night. "I didn't think you would."

"Maybe I wanted to talk to you." Clark came out of the shadows.

"I can see you now." She smiled. "So have you been busy tonight?"

"No...not really. How about you?" He said, as he scanned her mask with his x-ray vision to see if he could see what she looked like underneath but he could not penetrate it. It was obviously lead lined.

"No, do you ever get sick of devoting your life to saving others?"

He chuckled. "This is not exactly my whole life."

"You mean you do other things." She asked interested.

"Yes I do other things." Clark knew he was being very open, which could leave him vulnerable but he felt like he had known Stiletto for ages.

"I am prying too much. I am sorry."

"It is ok. I would not answer your questions if I didn't want you to know." He told her. "It is nice to be able to talk to someone."

"Same here!" she replied.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them. "So how long have you been patrolling the streets?" Clark asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm pretty new to all this to be honest." She replied, her mind furiously thinking of things to talk about. "But you're not , are you?"

"No, I've been doing this for a while now."

"Why...I mean why do you do it?" She inquired

"I don't know really. I feel like I have this greater mission in life and I can make a difference."

"But you don't expect anything in return. You fight crime for the shadows but never take the thanks for it." She suggested.

"Knowing I have helped someone is reward enough for me."

Clark tried to look at her face but his eyes kept wandering down her slender leather encased figure. He really wanted to ask her how she managed to get it on.

"How can you run in that suit?" he asked. "It's a bit...tight!"

She looked at him. "Do you think it is too tight?"

He panicked. He asked himself why he had brought up the subject of her suit and now he was trying to work out how to answer her question.

"Umm..no, it looks fine." He stuttered back nervously.

"How about your suit? Why did you change from the red and blue?" She smiled at him, enjoying the fact she was making him squirm.

"I was worried I would be seen. I think the black look is better. What do you think?" he asked.

"I never really saw you close up in your red and blue, so I can't really comment." She replied. "Let's face it...you tend to run very fast so no one gets a chance to see you. How fast can you run?"

"Quite fast. I seem to be getting faster as I get older."

"Oh I see. You make it sound as though you are very old. How old..." she never finished her sentence as she realised she was being too nosey.

"I won't tell you exactly except to say I am more than 20 and less than 30." He chuckled.

"Well that narrows it down." She laughed back.

"Your turn, how old are you?"

"Ditto to your answer." She replied.

Again their night was interrupted by the sounds of police sirens. Lois noticed the Blur getting shifty.

"You go. Thanks for our chat. I enjoyed it."

"Me too. Maybe we can do it again sometime." He suggested. "How about tomorrow night?" He hoped he was not being too forward.

She smiled. "It's a date!" Then she paused and backtracked. "Well it is not a date...you know what I mean."

Clark sped off into the night, his head spinning in reaction to what had just happened. This was first time he had talked to anyone as the Blur, where he had felt able to open up. He could have followed her to find out who she was but he found the mystery an attraction.

He had finally admitted that he was attracted to this leather clad here, but then reminded himself 98% of the male population probably would have been too. But it was more than that, she listened to him and made him feel normal. She was not in awe of him.

Lois walked back to car, hoping she could get away before he followed her. She drove back to Smallville, completely overwhelmed by some type of undefined feelings running through her mind. If she did not know any better she would have said that she felt an attraction towards the Blur.

Lois arrived early the following evening. She waited by the phone box until the Blur appeared at the end of the alley. Her head had been in the clouds all day and unable to concentrate on the simplest of tasks. Luckily Clark had been on assignment with Tess all day which was a blessing because he would have realised that something was wrong.

She suddenly felt a whoosh past her ear. She walked up the alley. "I am going to get a reputation for hanging around street corners in tight leather outfits." She laughed, feeling more at ease with him the more she spoke to him.

He looked at her. "Do you want to get out of here?" he asked.

"Are you propositioning me?" she asked, but then wished she could take it back. She would no doubt have frightened him off now.

"No, of course not!" he replied, not sure whether he wished he could proposition her or not. "I was just wondering if you want to go somewhere to sit down and relax a bit more."

"Oh I see." She said. "I'd like that. Where did you have in mind?"

He pointed up at the sky.

She stared at him in disbelief. "You mean fly."

"No, I am sorry to disappoint you but I can't fly...well not yet anyway. I was going to jump up there. Do you trust me?"

"Completely." She walked towards him.  
>He grabbed her and scooped her up in his arms. Then he squatted down before launching himself in the air. Lois felt like the bottom was coming out of her stomach as she quickly saw the ground disappear from below her.<p>

A second later they were on top of one of the oldest buildings in Metropolis.

"That was amazing." Lois shrieked with excitement. "It was like one of those theme park rides, only a million times better."

"Thanks. I just thought we could come up here to get away from it all and have somewhere to sit. He motioned for her to sit on one of the walls. He took a seat next to her, but was careful not to get too close.

"What is this place?" she asked when she had calmed down.

"I call it the Crow's Nest. I come here so I can watch out over the city to look for signs of trouble." He explained.

"I don't know how you can see or hear anything. The cars look like ants."

"I have super hearing and can zoom in on things." He replied.

"You are full of all surprises. It is so beautiful up here. Thank you for bringing me up here."

"You're welcome!"

"So what other surprises do you have?" she asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see." He said, not sure if he meant that comment to sound as flirty as it did. He cleared his throat. "Do you have any powers, other than the ability to squeeze into an incredibly tight leather suit?"

She was enjoying his obvious flirting and had lost count of how many times he had checked her out since they met up ten minutes ago. "No, I'm a one trick pony." She laughed.

Lois was a very guarded person with her feelings but this masked persona seemed to allow her to let go of her inhibitions and go places normally never would.

"Why do you keep checking me out?" she asked outright.

"You certainly don't beat around the bush." He fired back. "I am just appreciating the quality of the sewing." He joked.

"You'd better be careful, your girlfriend or wife may get jealous."

"Maybe both will." He replied seriously, calling her bluff.  
>She froze. "You mean you are married and have a girlfriend. I guess it makes sense because you can blur in and out of situations. So is that why you thought you would bring me up here." She started to sound annoyed.<p>

"Calm down! I was kidding. I am 100% single."

"Oh I see. I suppose women can't cope with your double life." She replied.

"Actually it was quite the opposite with my ex-girlfriend. She could not deal with me being more powerful than her and she found a way to match my powers. That was the cause of our final break up but when I look back now, I can see that we were never meant to be." He revealed.

"She sounds a little shallow, if you don't mind me saying. She should accept you for who you are, not what you can do. Your powers don't define you as a person, do they?"

"No, not really but my powers will always be an important part of my life. Maybe I should place an advert in the dating column." He replied.

"I don't think you have to resort to such desperate measures. There will be someone out there for you." Lois reassured him.

"Well for a moment I thought there was but I don't think she is interested. I didn't treat her with the respect she deserved. "

"What did you do?" Lois asked, a hint of jealousy evident in her voice.

"I took her for granted and did not make my feelings clear, mainly because I was confused by what I wanted. I should have acted on my feelings rather than run off the way I did."

"You sound like me. I normally flee at the first sign of anything developing."

He looked at her, and took one of the biggest risks of his life. "So why aren't you running now?"

She held his gaze. "Because I don't want to."

He stood up and offered his hand. "Are you feeling what I am feeling?"

She took his hand, and decided to risk her heart on a man she barely knew.

Their lips nervously drifted towards each other, until they brushed gently. Lois tilted her head to an angle to gain better access but their masks were still getting in the way. Slightly frustrated, they both pulled apart.

"This isn't working too well." He admitted. "I'm sorry, maybe it was a bad idea."

She looked at him. "Maybe if we took our masks off it would be easier."

He seemed to tense up at that suggestion. "I don't think we're ready for that."

"You're right. Shall we just rewind a bit and go back to talking? Kissing seems to just complicate things." She explained.

"Good idea!" He replied, wondering if this had been a blessing in disguise. He wondered if all this was just down to pure physical attraction. After all he did not know Stiletto as a person. To him she was a stunning body in leather bodysuit. He did not yet know who the person was underneath the disguise, but he knew one thing – he wanted to find out and continue this fledgling relationship.

Lois should have been disappointed by the false start but she was actually relieved. It had pulled them back from maybe making the biggest mistake of their lives. The Blur was this amazing selfless individual who chose to dedicate his life to saving others, but...did that necessarily make him good boyfriend material. It was as though that kiss had jolted them back to reality.

She was a little lost for words after their awkward exchange so she decided to excuse herself for the night. But she didn't have to...The Blur was soon called on to perform another save.

"Can we meet tomorrow night and just talk?" He asked hopefully.

"Ok, same time, same place." She remarked.  
>"Definitely...see you then!" he bent over and kissed her gently on the cheek.<p>

The following morning at the Daily Planet was a busy one, but neither Clark nor Lois was able to concentrate on work.

Clark looked over the top his computer to see Lois in a complete trance, so deep in thought; she did not seem to move a muscle.

"Lois, are you ok?" he asked concerned.

There was still no movement. "Lois..." he shouted louder to get her attention which he did, along with the rest of the staff in the Bullpen.

"What is it?" she snapped.

"I was worried about you. You seemed to be out of it."

"I have stuff on my mind." She replied impatiently. "Just because you have a cushy number and the most you need to worry about is the colour of plaid to wear when you get home."

"Lois, that was below the belt. What is troubling you?" he asked quietly.

Lois threw up the excuse to stop him asking questions. "Just women  
>problems."<p>

He sat down in his chair. "Well, I'll stop right there. That's not my speciality."

"Sorry for my mood. I just feel my life is coming to a crossroads and I don't know which fork to take for the best."

He moved his chair around so he could see her better. "You're not thinking of leaving the Daily Planet, are you?" he was worried.

"No Smallville. This isn't about my work, it's personal stuff."

"Can I help?" he asked out of genuine concern. "It must be serious if it is bothering you this much."

She sighed. "Look Smallville, I'll tell you if you want to know."

"Whatever it is, you can tell me." He smiled showing his support.

"Ok...I have met someone."

That one sentence made his expression change instantly, but he knew he needed to put his jealousy aside and listen to her problems as a friend.

"Is it serious?"

"I would like it to be, but I have doubts about taking the next step." She explained.

"Oh I see. Shouldn't you be talking to him about it?"

"It's complicated!" She replied.

He laughed. "Wasn't that my line when I was dating..." then he stopped.

"Lana! You can say her name." Lois snapped.

"Sorry I didn't mean to bring her up." He replied sheepishly.

"And why not? Our little misunderstanding at the wedding has been cleared up. In fact she did us a favour turning up. It wouldn't have worked anyway so why dwell on it?"

Clark was going to answer but they were interrupted by the voice of Randall.

"Lane, Kent. Tess Mercer's office now."

Lois looked up. "Can't Randall ever use full sentences?" she suggested to Clark.

Randall stared at her. "I heard that Lane."

Lois and Clark scuttled into the elevator and took it up to the top floor where Tess's office was. All the way, they tried to work out what she would want with them, thinking through all the things they could have done wrong.

"I bet we are going to lose our jobs. Tess never wants to speak to you unless she wants to fire you." Lois replied down heartened.

"Lois, stop being so pessimistic." He replied.

Lois was annoyed at his comment and that's when the squabble starting carrying all the way into Tess's office.

Tess looked at them and waited for them to stop. "How do you two manage to work together? All you do is fight?" she announced smugly.

They froze when they realised what they were doing in front of their unimpressed boss.

Tess took a deep breath. "After that performance, I think I should fire you rather than send you on an assignment."

"Assignment!" Lois piped up excitedly. She always loved hearing those words especially since she was usually cooped up in the airless bullpen.

"Yes, you and Clark are going to Washington DC to spend a few days with a member of the Senate. I think it is important to see what they do for local people when they spend most of their time in the capital."

"But which Senator?" Clark asked realising there was two from Kansas, one of who was his mom.

"Your mother!" she looked Clark. "I thought it was important to send someone who could get the real story. I know you have family loyalties Clark, but I expect non biased reporting."

He smiled. "Of course! Do you want me to ring and ask her?"

"I already have. You are staying at her apartment."

Lois was thrilled. Her thoughts went back to the Blur and she just hoped he understood she would be going away for a few days. "So can we leave work early to go and pack for tomorrow."

"Who said anything about tomorrow. You are flying at 3pm which gives you 5hrs to get ready and on the flight."

Lois looked horrified. She had no way of letting the Blur know she was going to be away and could not meet him tonight. On the other hand Clark was disappointed that he could not meet Stiletto, but he knew she would think he had been held up on a job.

"Is something wrong, Lois?" Tess asked.

"I have something on tonight."

"Well if you really want to go, I can send someone else with Clark." Tess announced.

Lois knew she had no choice but to go...


	3. Chapter 3

Clark could not help but notice Lois's preoccupation on the way to the airport which continued on to the airplane. He tried to distract her by making conversation but she did not want to talk much.

"I'm tired...can I borrow your shoulder to have a sleep?" She asked, putting up her barriers so she did not have to discuss any more emotional issues with Clark.

"Of course you can." He smiled, and watched Lois drift off for the rest of flight.

Hours later, they landed at Dulles Airport. "Lois, we're here." He said.

"Where?"

"In Washington DC." He replied, nudging her to wake up again. "Have you been having some late nights or something?"

"Something like that!" She groaned.

They were standing waiting for their luggage, when Clark received a message from his mom.

"Mom is locked in a Senate debate until late. She has sent a limo and said to get takeaway and she will grab some when she gets in."

The two of them were whisked away to his mom's apartment. Clark pretended he had never seen the apartment even though he had been a regular visitor since his mom had moved up to DC. He could go long without having some of his mom's cooking.

"It will be great to see mom again, even if it is for work." He smiled as he grabbed the menu for the Chinese.

"Yeah it will." Lois replied, obviously distracted.

"Lois, do you want to continue our conversation which we started in the bullpen."

"Not really. I don't want to talk about it anymore. As you said before, it is between him and me." She replied curtly.

"Ok... but it was him you were supposed to be seeing tonight isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I have no way of contacting him. I hope he does not get too worried."

"Couldn't you ring him on his cell?"

"I don't have his number." She admitted, slightly embarrassed by how that sounded.

"Are you sure you know this man well enough if he refuses to give you his cell number?" Clark asked concerned.

She was becoming annoyed. "Clark, I don't appreciate your opinions on matters you know nothing about. You had your chance."

He looked pensive. "Don't you think I know that? I am sorry I hurt you and if I could go back in time and change things, I would."

"What exactly would you change?" She replied. "Not getting close to me?"

"No, I would not have ignored you the moment Lana came back on the scene. I messed up and now I have to accept that you have moved on...and now I have to do the same." He replied, wondering if that is exactly what he was doing flirting with Stiletto...moving on.

Their Chinese soon arrived but Lois was not very hungry and sat at the table picking at her noodles.

"I think I will go and have a shower." Lois got up and left Clark wondering how he could get through to her. He had decided to respect her privacy and not pry any further about her new man. After all she was right...it was none of his business.

Lois had just gone in the shower, when his mom arrived home. Clark got up to hug her. "Hi sweetheart." She hugged him, then looked around. "She is in the shower, mom."

"Oh I see. Guess we won't be seeing her for another hour. Sorry I am late, but once a debate starts you cannot leave."

"I bet you were surprised when Tess Mercer rang up and asked if we could tag along with you for a few days."

"I was surprised but then again it is the chance to get caught up with you and Lois. How are things with you? I know you said there was trouble after the wedding when Lana came back. I shouldn't be saying this but I am glad you and Lana did not make another go of it."

"We tried though... but were forced apart." He reminded his mom.

"I know that honey, but be honest with yourself, if both of you had been so convinced you were right for each other, would you still not be scouring the Earth to find a way to be together."

He stood for a moment, considering what his mom was suggesting. "I think you're right, but my head is just so messed up at the moment. I have feelings for Lois, but now I have growing feelings for someone else." He admitted.

"Who?" she asked.

"She is called...Stiletto. She is another wannabe hero in Metropolis and I met her one night when I was on patrol. There is an attraction between us that I cannot explain. It is like we have known for ages. I mean I have never seen her face."

"Oh...that sounds complicated. Does she know who you are?"

"No, neither of us are ready to reveal that. Nothing has happened between us yet but I feel that it will if we continue to meet up."

"What about Lois?"

"It doesn't matter now. She is seeing someone else and it sounds serious." Clark seemed sad. "Why does it have to be so hard to find someone to share your life with?"

She took his hand. "Maybe because you are working too hard at it. Just relax and see what happens. The last thing you need is another relationship like the one you had with Lana. You are only 22 years old."

He looked at her. "I guess you are right. At the end of the day as long as Lois is happy, that's all that matters."

Lois walked in on that last sentence. "That's so sweet for you to say so. Thanks Clark. I am sorry, Martha but I have used the last of the soap." Lois admitted.

Clark smiled. "I will head down the local shop and get some."

"Could you get some wine while you are there?" Martha asked. "Let's crack open a bottle since it is a special occasion."

Clark grabbed his coat to take a slow walk down to the shops.

Martha hugged Lois. "It's great to see you again. I miss Smallville."

"I miss you too" Lois pulled away. Tears forming her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Martha asked concerned.

"I don't know what to do." She replied.

"Sweetheart, what is it?"

Lois took a deep breath. "Martha...my new relationship is more complicated than most."

"He's not married, is he?" she asked, puzzled by Lois's concern.

"No, well he says he isn't. The problem is I do not know much about him...not even his name."

Martha tried not to look too shocked but she did not do a very good job of hiding her surprise. "You don't know his name..."

"In fact I don't know what he looks like." She continued.

"Right...ok...I don't know what to say to that really." Martha replied, almost lost for words.

"We meet up at night, and both wear disguises."

"Lois, you will have to forgive me, but I have led quite a sheltered upbringing on the farm. Is this one of those weird modern dating practices."

Lois went red. "No...no. It is nothing like that. I am seeing...the Red and Blue Blur...well not so much the Red and Blue anymore...rather the Blur."

It was the last thing Martha expected to hear, and she was not entirely sure if it made matters more complicated or easier. She needed time to work this one out, but at the moment, she needed to concentrate on her mom-daughter advice session with Lois.

"Ok...so are you dating?" Martha asked, a little puzzled why Clark did not tell her during their discussion before.

"Not exactly. I think I would like to, but something keeps stopping me... He does not know who I am. I dress up in a costume and mask. I call myself Stiletto. I only did it to get a one on one interview with the Blur." She admitted guiltily.

Martha tried to make sense of what she was hearing. The bottom line was that Lois and Clark loved each other as themselves and as their alter-egos but they had not realised they were all one and the same. This was a total conundrum. Martha tried to think how she needed to handle this.

"So you have no idea who the Blur is?" she asked Lois.

"No, in some ways the mystery is the attraction." Lois admitted.

"So you are saying if he revealed himself to you, you would not be interested."

"I don't know." Lois pondered the question. "So do you think I am basing my feelings for the Blur on the myth, not the man."

Martha smiled. "I think that is for you to work out but I would say you have partially answered your own question. I am not trying to dissuade you from seeing him but try to find out more about the man underneath the mask. If you don't, I can't see how your relationship can work" Martha replied cryptically.

Clark arrived back, making Lois halt her conversation with Martha. "Thanks for the advice." She smiled.

"Let's crack open the wine." Martha said.

Soon they were relaxing with their glasses of wine. "So mom, what do you have on tomorrow?"

"I have arranged for you to have access to the Senate tomorrow, then we are going to a charity function tomorrow night."

Lois froze. "I had no idea. I will have to go shopping tomorrow as I don't have anything to wear."

Clark smiled. "Mom, what time do we have to be at the Senate in the morning?"

"About 1pm. It is an afternoon session. The morning session is a closed affair so you won't have access."

"Do you mind if I take Lois shopping?" Clark asked.

"No of course not!"

"Smallville, you and dress shopping do not mix. " she laughed. "I am not wearing a plaid dress."

"Let's just go!" he looked at her.

"Ok, it should be interesting if nothing else." Lois grinned.

Martha finished her wine. "I am off to bed now. Clark, will you be ok on the sofa? I am afraid that I only have two bedrooms."

"That's fine, mom. Good night." He kissed her on the cheek.

Lois decided to stay up to finish her wine. "I am not keeping you up, am I?"

"No Lois. I can stay up a little longer. I don't have any farm chores to do in the morning." He grinned.

"You miss your mom, don't you?"

"Yeah I do and I worry. She won't admit it but I think the reason she won't visit the farm is the memories are just too raw and painful." Clark explained.

Lois rubbed his shoulder. "It must be hard for you too. I mean I only knew your dad a few years but I miss him so much."

"He was the best dad I could hope for!" Clark announced proudly, a stray tear falling down his cheek.

She rubbed it away with her thumb. Just as her hand was moving away from his face, he intercepted it with his own and held onto it. There was silence between them as Lois raised her head to meet his eyes.

It was the same look he had given her during their impromptu wedding dance. She could not help but notice his eyes were fixed on her lips. She took a deep breath and tentatively inched closer and closer to him. His lips curled up in a little smile as he started to move to meet her halfway. Gently their lips brushed one another but they both wanted more. Lois placed her hands around the back of his neck, pulling him towards her . Slowly but surely their kisses become deeper and more adventurous, taking their time to experience one another. There was no urgency and even more importantly no Lana.

Both were lost, so much so they did not notice Martha appearing in the lounge until they heard her voice. "Wine always make me thirsty." Then she did a double take as she took in the sight of her son and Lois lip-locked.

She excused herself. "Sorry, I am just heading back to bed." She announced loudly whilst wondering if this situation could get any more complicated...

Martha got up the following morning expecting to see Clark and Lois all happy after the events of last night, but how wrong she was. As soon as she entered the lounge, the atmosphere was ice cold. They made the Cold War look like a playground squabble.

"Lois, stop bringing that up!" Clark shouted.

"I just asked if you would take her back if she turned up again."

"I have told you before; we're finished." He fired back.

"I can't deal with this. I am going out." She stormed off, slamming the door behind her.

Martha looked at Clark. "Could someone please tell me what is going on here?"

"We have had a disagreement." He replied.

"But after last night..."

"Last night was a mistake. Lois is obsessed with Lana coming back. Obviously I can't tell her the real reason Lana left and even if I could, it would just make matters worse."

"I don't want to take sides but I can see why Lois may be feeling a little vulnerable where Lana is concerned. I mean you two have split up and got back together so many times over the years."

"I know that mom, but the last thing I need is another complicated relationship."

"Is love not worth the risk?"  
>"Is it love? How can it be when I am having feelings for another woman who I hardly even know? I have tried to convince myself that my relationship with Stiletto would never work, but for some reason my thoughts keep going back to her. Is it possible to love two people at the same time?" He asked.<p>

"I'm not the expert, Clark...but I think if you and Lois don't work out where you stand, not only will it destroy any chance you have of a relationship between you but it will also even make your working relationship at the Daily Planet impossible."

Clark looked at her. "Should I go looking for Lois?"

Martha hugged her son. "Look, why don't you make breakfast I will go and see if I can find her."

Lois had not got very far. She was in the foyer talking to one of the other residents in the apartment complex and a very familiar one at that.

Martha approached them. "Martha..." the man turned from Lois and hugged Martha. "We must meet up some time. All we ever seem to do is pass each other in the corridors."

"I'd love to, Bill. I see you have my guest."

"How did you keep this one a secret?" Bill smiled at Lois.

His cell rang. "I'll see you both later at the ball. Lois, I will meet you at 7pm."

Martha waved goodbye to Bill. "Lois, what have you done?"

"He's lovely. I did not know you employed such a cute campaign manager. We just got talking and he asked me to be his guest for the ball tonight."

Martha looked at her. "Bill is a lovely man, but what about Clark? He is very upset by what happened."

Lois looked guilty. "This is so awkward because he is your son but I don't think we are meant to be together. I am convinced Lana will walk back in his life at any moment and rip away whatever I have started with him. I cannot go through another broken heart like I did after Chloe's wedding." The tears were visible in her eyes.

Bill came back. "Martha, I am sorry to disturb you, but I think we are needed at the Senate. Looks like one of our team is threatening to vote for the other side. He has agreed to meet with us."

Martha hated to leave Lois and Clark hanging like this but her work had to come first. "Lois, will you tell Clark, I needed to go."

"Of course."

"I'll call you at lunchtime to arrange where to meet for this afternoon's Senate session."

Lois went back up to the apartment to face Clark. "Hi!" She said sheepishly.

"Hi." He said quietly. "I am sorry for my behaviour. Can we talk?"

"Maybe later. Now you promised to come with me to buy a dress."

"Luckily I can wear a hired suit. I am looking forward to tonight." He smiled. "We can talk then."

Lois smiled at him smugly. "I don't think my date will like that. It would be a little rude of me."

He stared at her. "When did you fix up a date?"

"In the lobby before... with your mom's campaign manager. He is called Bill."

Clark was going to fight back but stopped himself realising that would not help matters. "Oh I see. Ok, we can maybe talk on the flight home tomorrow morning. Anyway for now let's get on with the reason we are here. If we come back empty handed, Tess will kill us."

Lois was upset by Clark's reaction. She knew it was unfair but she wanted him to be jealous, but he did not look too bothered by her dating another man.

Clark looked at Lois. "Look, on second thoughts, why don't you ring your dad and see if he wants to do lunch with you, since you are in town. It would be a shame to come all this way and not see him. Maybe I am not the best choice to accompany you shopping. I will give you my card and you can charge it to my card...no limit."

"It's fine Clark. I don't expect you to pay. I will buy my own and will grab some breakfast whilst I'm shopping. See you later." She put on a false smile and left.

Martha had just got off the phone to Clark, who said that Lois had gone out shopping by herself. He sounded upset and had told her it was easier to speak to Stiletto, even with the use of voice modulator from Oliver.

That gave Martha an idea. She had always promised not to interfere in her son's personal life, and had even managed to stay quiet all those years he was with Lana. But she knew that Clark and Lois were meant to be even if they were blind to the fact, so she rang Oliver to fill him in on her plan.

"So Oliver, I will see you tomorrow at 2pm." As she hung up, she sat back in her office chair and wondered if she was doing the right thing...


	4. Chapter 4

Lois made it just in time to be admitted to the Senate afternoon session.

Clark looked at her, and then glanced at his watch. "You're cutting it fine. Did you end up meeting your father?"

She shook her head. "I rang him but he is out of town for a few days. He says he will be at Fort Ryan next month so he will meet up with me then. Anyway it took me ages to find a dress. This one will knock Bill's socks off."

Clark was not going to bite. "I look forward to seeing it. Is Bill picking you up or are you coming with me and mom."

Lois was still puzzled by his sudden lack of interest in her. "He is picking me up at 7pm."

They headed into the hall where they spent the afternoon, watching his mom lobby for some new legislation. By 4pm the session was finished.

Martha met them outside the hall. "How did you find it?"

Lois smiled. "I don't how you do it Martha but most of that stuff went way over my head."  
>"It took me a while but I have a supportive team."<p>

"I must admit Bill seems my kind of guy. He seems to know how to treat a girl." she said, obviously directing that comment at Clark.

Clark pretended not to listen, but he heard every word. He could not work out what his next move towards Lois should be.

Bill came along the corridor. "Martha, can I have a quick word?"

She nodded and headed into her office with him.

Bill asked. "What is the plan for tonight? How much do you want me to play along with Lois?"

"Not too much. I don't want Clark hurt but I figure some reverse psychology is the only way forward with these two." she laughed.

"I did not know what to say when Lois asked me out. It was a bit forward when she had just met me." Bill replied. "I did not have the heart to tell her I was gay."

"She is trying to make Clark jealous but he is acting like he doesn't care."

"But even I can see he is mad about her. I don't need a degree in body language to see the chemistry these two have been displaying all afternoon. I just hope your plan works." Bill commented.

"So do I!"

Martha, Lois and Clark headed back to her apartment to get ready for that evening.

"What time is your flight in the morning?" Martha asked.

"It is at seven, so we will have to make sure that we don't have too much of a late night." Clark replied.

"Clark, speak for yourself. I am not making any plans until I see how the party goes." Lois

"I will book a taxi for us at 11pm as I want to flyi back with you tomorrow. I have some business to discuss with Oliver Queen in Metropolis. Lois, you can always get a lift home with Bill." his mom suggested.

Lois was totally confused by Martha's reaction towards her date. "Ok then.." she said with uncertainty.

Martha asked Lois if she wanted to go for a sauna before getting ready.

"This is a great place to live." Lois told her. "You have all the mod cons."

"It is..." Martha replied as they headed down to the sauna room. "But I do miss the farm."

As they enjoyed the relaxation, Lois looked at Martha. "Are you ok with me and Bill going to the Ball together."

"Of course I am. I shouldn't interfere but I have been watching you and Clark this afternoon and to be honest, I see any relationship between the two of you heading the same way as his one with Lana." Martha lied convincingly.

Lois looked deflated. "What makes you say that?"

"Lois, you two just end up bickering all the time."

"I am just so confused."

Martha smiled. "I have spent time thinking about your situation and I am wondering if you should pursue your relationship with the Blur. If I was in your position I would be attracted by the mystery of it all."

Lois thought about what she had said. "But I don't even know who he is. He might never tell me."

"Is that not worth the risk?" Martha asked enticingly.

It took Lois almost two hours to get ready, much to Clark's dismay as he needed to get into the bathroom.

"Lois, how long are you going to be?" he shouted through the door. Then he heard a knock at the front door, so he went to answer it.

He opened the door to see a smiling Bill standing there. "Hi Clark. Is she ready?"

Clark looked at him. "She is still in the bathroom. Come in for a drink. She will take at least another hour." He went to sort out a drink.

They sat in the lounge waiting for both women to appear.

"Lois said something about buying a new dress. Have you seen it?" Bill asked.

"Are you kidding? She can be more secretive then the CIA."

Clark tried to find something to dislike about Bill, but he couldn't. He seems a decent guy, but did feel he was being led astray by Lois.

Martha appeared. "You look lovely." Clark and Bill both commented.

"Thanks. Is Lois not out of the bathroom yet?"

They didn't have to wait long. Lois appeared...

Clark was speechless. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. Lois was not hard on the eyes to start off with but this dress hit it out of the ball park. It clung to all the right places, accentuating every curve on her body.

The orange dress she had worn at Chloe's wedding had opened his eyes to her amazing beauty, but this one blew him away. The only other person who had had this effect on him in terms of physical attraction was Stiletto.

He was being pulled in two completely opposite directions but which way should he go.

The party was soon in full swing. Martha was sat with her son.

"Clark, why are you drinking as though it has an effect on you." She asked, wondering if she was doing the right thing by getting involved. She could not see any other way, the gap between her son and Lois was turning into a bigger chasm by the second.

"I wish alcohol did affect me and then I wouldn't be feeling so frustrated. Lois is leading Bill on, just to get back at me."

Martha looked at him. "Maybe she is, but she is still reeling from Lana's reappearance. She doesn't know how to deal with it."

"Wow, mom. Don't go easy on me. Lana and I are over, you know that."

"Yeah I do but Lois doesn't, and no matter how many times you tell her it, at the back of her mind is the fact you got back with Lana. I think you need to put your relationship with Lois on the backburner until you figure out what you want in life. You don't want another disaster. Sorry for the tough love, but I think you needed to hear it." Martha explained.

"Maybe you're right!" Clark resided.

"Give it time. If Lois and you are meant to be together, you will be." Martha tried to reassure him. "Don't push it."

Clark suddenly looked over his mom's shoulder. "Well look who is gatecrashing the party."

Martha turned around to see an unexpected guest. "Oliver, I thought I was meeting you in Metropolis."

"I thought I would come here. Since the merger with Luthorcorp, I don't seem very busy and knowing how full your diary is, I thought I would save you the trip."

She smiled back at him. "That is so nice of you."

"Hi Clark, how are things?"

"Just great..." he replied, obviously distracted.

Oliver turned around to confirm his suspicions that Lois was the source and distraction. She had her hands draped around Bill's neck as they moved around the dance floor with a few other dancing couples.

"I can see why..." Oliver offered.

Martha stood up. "If you don't mind, Oliver and I are going to see if there is a quiet corner to discuss business."

Clark grunted back, but then managed a nod. "Ok, see you later."

Martha grabbed some drinks and they headed to a quiet table in a corner, well away from the dance floor and the music.

"Will this be ok?" Oliver asked, looking back over at Clark.

"Don't worry, he won't listen. He has always respected people's privacy and to be honest I am sure he doesn't find Senate business that interesting." Martha smiled.

"So things don't look as though they are going well. So what is your plan?"

"Their relationship is in tatters at the moment. They have both put up so many barriers, and I don't see how they will break them down if we don't interfere a little."

"A little!" he laughed.

"Well , maybe more than just a little." she smiled back. "I have been planting doubts in both their heads that it won't work between them."

"And how does that help?" he asked puzzled.

"I think we need to get them together via their alter egos. If Stiletto and the Blur can talk to each other openly about their feelings without the baggage from the past, it may work."

"But they don't know each other's identity." Oliver added. "Won't any fledgling relationship collapse when they discover each other lies."

"It is a risk, but they are both hiding their identities so in some ways they cannot blame each other for lying."

Oliver smiled. "I suppose there is no other way of doing things."

Meanwhile Clark decided he had had enough of the charade Lois was putting on and he approached her when Bill left to get them a drink.

"Lois...are you having a good time." he asked, trying hard not to look at her in that dress.

"Well I would be if you would quit staring at me." she snapped.

"Well why don't you quit using Bill to get back at me?"

"I am not using Bill to get back at you. I am enjoying myself with a friend."

"A friend?"

"Well we're never going to be much else considering he told me in the car that he had a boyfriend called Michael, so believe me leading him on is not possible." Lois replied smugly.

"Oh I see." Clark was speechless, his argument had been blown to smithereens.

"Now if you don't mind. I am going to powder my nose before I catch up with Oliver." she headed off down the corridor. He decided to follow her.

"Lois, can we talk?" he pleaded with her, only to be met with frosty glances over her shoulder.

"No we can't. I don't want my night spoiled."

"I need you in my life." he shouted. Those words made her stop in her tracks. She turned around and look at him.

"I think you need to know that I am serious about that man I am seeing" She announced coldly.

Clark could not believe what he was hearing but he knew immediately from her expression that she was telling the truth and whoever he was, he meant a lot to her.

"Who is he?" He asked, knowing he had no right to ask. But he needed to know.

"I can't tell you...but it is serious." she said, turning around, mainly to hide her wet eyes. "I am going to fly back with Oliver, as I think it is best if we don't travel home together, under the circumstances."

Lois walked off, knowing exactly who she loved, and it wasn't the Blur.

On his way back from the airport, Clark went to see Oliver at his apartment.

"Hi Clark, how are you? Sorry I sided with Lois and did not offer you a ride home."

"Let's face it, Oliver. If I had wanted to run home, I could have. It was a good chance for me to think and I have decided not to pursue Lois."

"And why is that?"

"She is seeing someone...she must have told you." Clark suggested.

Oliver shook his head. "No she didn't. In fact she said barely anything on the way home...bit odd when you consider it is Lois we are talking about."

"I have to face her this afternoon at work, but I will just play it cool."

"What about your other avenue of interest?" Oliver inquired.

"You mean Stiletto...she has probably left town by now." he smiled at the thought of seeing if she was still around. "I will see when I go on patrol tonight."

Clark headed back to the farm, unpacked and then drove back to work. He expected Lois to be annoyed with him, but it was quite the opposite.

"Hi Clark. Was your flight ok?" she asked.

"Yeah fine...you?"

"I hope you don't mind but I filed the Senate story this morning. Tess was pushing for a deadline. Don't worry I put you on the byline." she smiled.

"Thanks..."

"Listen I am heading out on a story now. I will see you tomorrow as I won't be coming back to the office." She picked her bag and left.

Clark sighed, realising he would prefer an angry Lois rather than an apathetic one.

Lois headed home to get her costume on for the night. She was excited about seeing him again and just hoped he had not been too worried by her absence for the last two nights. Anything which took her mind off her disaster with Clark had to be a bonus.

She went to their phone booth to see if he turned up. It didn't take long for her to be literally swept off her feet and find herself standing on top of the Crow's Nest.

She looked over to see him standing there. "Hi..." he said in his modulated voice.

"Hi...I have missed you." she said, hoping it had not sounded too desperate. "I am sorry I have not seen you the past few days."  
>"I know I am sorry I was out of town, and could not let you know." He replied.<p>

"You too... I was trying to explain that I had been out of town too."

"Oh I see." he went quiet for a second. "Did you have a nice time?"

"Sort of..." she answered in a non committal way. "It is a little complicated. How about you?"

"Same really!" he laughed.

"I am glad to be back and I appreciate having you to talk to." she explained.

"Me too. Our relationship seems so...uncomplicated." he replied.

She giggled at that suggestion. "We don't know who each other is..how uncomplicated is that?"

He walked towards her. "I don't need to know your name. I feel like I have known you forever." he said and then winced. "Sorry, did that sound corny."

"No...because I feel the same way." she replied honestly. "I find you easier than most men to talk to, even though I know very little about you."

"Why don't we fix that? How about asking each other two questions every time we meet. It cannot be about our identity and if we feel uncomfortable we don't have to answer."

"Ok then... you first." she said with excitement.

"No, ladies first."

"Ok...how long have you had your powers?" she asked.

He paused. He was about to give away one of his secrets but for some reason he knew he could let his guard down with Stiletto.

"Since I was about 2 years old." he answered.

Lois did a quick calculation and realised he must have been about 22 years old. That was if he was meteor infected like she assumed.

"A long time then...You shoot with your question."

"I can't think." he was silent for a moment. "Ok...here goes. Does your boyfriend know you meet me here?"

"Like you , I am single and have been for almost a year."

"Ok second question." she continued. "Did you get your powers from the meteor shower?"

He looked at her. "No I didn't."

Now she was confused and wished she had more questions so she could probe further. "Your go!"

"Look, I need to go back on patrol but my question is...can I kiss you again?"

Her heart started to race. "I thought you said that would complicate things."

"I know I did, but I am starting to have these feelings for you and I'd like to kiss you." he said, realising his disguise made him more confident.

"On one condition...we both take our masks off." she said. "But we have to keep our eyes closed."

He was enjoying this flirting too much to refuse such an offer. "Ok.,."

They both approached each other hesitantly. Once they were within arms length, they closed their eyes. In complete contrast to their last experience, this was more satisfying from the moment their lips touched. Soon they were both lost in the kiss, neither aware of how carried away they were becoming.

Clark placed his hand on the back of Lois's hair pulling him to her as he plunged his tongue into her mouth. She followed suit, and began running her hands across his taut muscular stomach. He let out an audible groan in response – the first time she had heard the Blur's real voice, not that she took much notice of it.

Just then, a gunshot pierced the night, wrenching them apart. Lois waited but realising he was gone, opened her eyes...fell back against the wall and moaned in pleasure thinking about what had just occurred.


	5. Chapter 5

Lois waited a while for the Blur to return but he did not so she decided to call it a night and headed home.

Lois was experiencing some conflicting feelings from her kiss with the masked hero. It had been an amazing kiss but something was holding her back. She took a while to work it out but then she realised it was guilt. Did she really have feelings for the Blur or was she caught up in the exhilaration and the mystery of kissing an unknown stranger?

She wandered into the Bullpen to see Clark with a beaming smile on his face. Her coffee and maple donut were there on her desk waiting for her arrival.

"It's not my birthday, Smallville." she announced, convinced he had got mixed up.

"I know it's not. I just thought we could start afresh this morning after the emotional stuff from the past few days. Lois, I do not want to lose your friendship because we could not get our act together as a couple." he told her.

"Ok..." she replied slowly, taking in what he was saying. "So you are saying we should move on as partners and forget ideas of anything deeper." She paraphrased.

"That's exactly what I am saying. You are caught up with your new man and I am seeing someone." Clark announced happily, still feeling the after effects from the kiss with Stiletto.

They were interrupted by Randall. "Tess wants to see you in her office now." he ordered.

Lois sighed as they headed to the elevator. "Let's see what she wants before my coffee gets cold."

The doors closed and the elevator moved but soon grounded to a halt. "What the hell?" Clark exclaimed.

"Ah this is great." Lois added, pressing the button to see if she could summon help but even that would not work.

"Looks like an power cut. Even the secondary systems look as though they have malfunctioned." he commented.

"Fabulous." she replied sarcastically. "Remember last time this happened, poor Jeff was stuck in the lift for three hours and now only takes the stairs."

"Well we might as well get comfortable." Lois checked her cell but there was no signal. She sat down and propped herself against the wall.

Clark smiled at her and sat next to her. "It is a shame that you didn't bring your coffee and donut with you. I hope your blood sugar does not drop too low." he joked.

"So what shall we talk about?" Clark asked.

"Tell me about your new girlfriend." Lois asked, not entirely convinced he was not lying about having one to make her jealous.

"Nothing much to tell really. I met her about a week ago and we seem to have clicked. She is so easy to get on with."

"That's exactly how I feel about this man I am seeing." she beamed. "I feel like I have known him for ages, even though we just met last week."

Lois could not help herself but she felt jealous. As much as she was attracted to the Blur, something kept dragging her thoughts back to the farm-boy sitting next to her.

She paused for a second. "So I guess you believe in love at first sight now."

"I wouldn't go that far. We are taking it slow and seeing where it leads."

Lois laughed nervously. "So you haven't even made it past first base yet."

Clark went red. "Actually we did...last night. Maybe we shouldn't be talking about this."

"Why not! Are you shy?" she taunted him.

"No...but it is just with everything that has gone on, I feel uncomfortable talking to you about it." he replied as honestly as he could.

"But we both know it could never work between us." she said, not realising his head was moving towards hers.

"Do we?" he asked.

It was as though he was moving in slow motion, looking for any sign that he should not continue, but it never came. Tentatively his lips pressed down on hers, waiting for the impending rejection...but then he felt her lips responding. Their exchange gained momentum...their hands becoming involved. Lois swung her leg over his, so she was sitting on his lap, their kiss not letting up.

Chloe was at the ISIS console when Oliver came in. "What have you done?"

"What do you mean?"

"My sources tell me that you have caused a power cut on the Daily Planet elevator."

"By sources, I guess you mean Emil." she smiled. "Those two need to get together and if trapping them alone in an elevator is the only way of doing that, well so be it."

"Chloe, you are jeopardising my plan." he remarked.

"What plan?" she asked curiously.

"I was going to tell you, and I will fill you in...but first put the power back on." he smiled.

By this point Clark had lost his shirt and Lois was about to lose her blouse when the lights went back on, jolting them apart.

Clark grabbed his shirt and quickly put it on before the door opened.

Lois took his actions as a sign that he regretted what had just happened, so she readjusted her blouse.

Once out of the elevator, she went and asked Randall for the rest of the day off, saying she had a migraine brought on by being trapped in a confined space. Meanwhile Clark was left more confused than ever.

Clark could not concentrate the rest of the day. He wanted to speak to Lois, but when he got to the Talon, the door was answered by Chloe.

"Hi Clark."

"Is Lois here? I need to talk to her." he asked.

"This is not the best time. She muttered something about you and then locked herself in her room. Whatever happened between you two, must have been bad because she even refused some Rocky Road Ice-cream." Chloe replied

"Ok...will you tell her I called." he asked.

Clark decided to head off back to Metropolis to do some patrolling, but he found it hard to concentrate. He stood in his usual spot above the city, listening for any sign of trouble, whilst keeping an eye on the phone booth. As soon as darkness fell, he saw a familiar figure appear on the street below. He jumped down to bring her back up to his lair.

"Hi." he said as he put her down. He tried to ignore the electricity that existed between them, leaving him to question whether his feelings for Stiletto were purely physical.

Lois did not reply. She lurched forward and kissed him hard. He did not reciprocate immediately, but soon the surge of lust was taking over his body. Lois pushed him back against the wall and started to run her hands up his chest.

"I want you." she moaned hoping her conflicting feelings about Clark would evaporate.

Clark could sense her frustration in her kiss. It was as though she was acting in desperation. He pushed her off. "Your heart is not in this, is it?"

Again she did not answer, just continued her frenzied assault on his lips.

Clark froze, before breaking apart from her again. "I think we are making a mistake."

She looked at him. "Not you too." then she went cold. "Please take me down to the street."

He started to apologise. "I do have feelings for you, but you need to know things about me first." He said wondering if his alien origins were really stopping him, or whether it was his feelings for Lois.

She could hear the seriousness in his voice. "Ok, shall we sit down?"

He did as she asked and then took a deep breath. "You asked me the other night if I got my powers from the meteor shower."

"You said you didn't." she continued for him.

"I was involved in the meteor shower. To be more precise I came down with the shower."

"Came down?" she asked bewildered by what he was implying. "Like from the sky."

"More like... from outer space. I am not human, I am a Kryptonian. My home planet was destroyed before I arrived on Earth."

"Oh my god." Lois exclaimed. "Have you been alone all this time?"

"No...I was found by a couple when I crash landed and they protected me and raised me as their own child."

Lois could not believe the enormity of what she was hearing. "It must have been hard for you, to hide in the shadows in fear of what would happen if anyone found out."

"It has been hard but my parents and friends have supported me." he explained before police sirens started in the distance.

"I want you to know that you that you are the first person I have told because I wanted to, not because I was forced to." he kissed her before speeding off into the night.

Lois tossed and turned that night not helped by the nocturnal activity going on in Chloe's room. Her inner turmoil was threatening to tear her emotions apart, and she knew she needed to act but how... The Blur had just dropped the most amazing bombshell ever, and she felt if she rejected him now he would think it was because he was an alien. Her mind just kept going around in circles.

Eventually she gave up on the idea of any more sleep and buried herself in her latest work assignment for the rest of the day.

Once Chloe and Jimmy had gone out for the night, she fell asleep over her computer.

Hours later, she was woke by a knock at the door. Pulling herself together, she staggered the door, half asleep. She opened the door to see a very apologetic looking Clark.

She was about to close the door on him when he put his hand up to stop her. "We need to talk. Are you ok? Have you been crying?" he was concerned by her puffy red eyes.

"No...well not really. I didn't sleep well." She turned around as he followed her in. Suddenly she noticed the pile of washing on the end of the sofa. She could not put it off anymore. "Listen Smallville, can I come over the farm now and do my washing. I am really running out of clean clothes, and I cannot afford the dry cleaners this month."

He smiled and they drove back to the farm with the five bags of washing.

After she had put the first load in, she went to sit down on the sofa next to Clark.

He rubbed her shoulder and took a deep breath. "I want to apologise for my behaviour yesterday. I should not have acted the way I did."

She looked at him. "Clark, I have more important things to worry about than your inability to deal with intimacy."

"I just got a shock when the elevator started to move. I didn't mean to act as though it meant nothing. It meant more than you can ever imagine and I don't want to throw away what we have."

"Clark, you are seeing someone else and so am I. Are you willing to risk that?" she looked deep into his eyes, looking for the answer she was hoping for.

"Yes I am." he replied sincerely. "But first, I need to tell you something."

"No you don't" she announced, climbing on his lap. "The only thing you need to do is to carry me upstairs."

He kissed her, scooped her up and carried her to his room.

After months of uncertainty and conflicted emotions, Lois lay draped across Clark's chest safe in the knowledge that she was 'the one'. Anyway insecurities about Lana coming back had been washed away during the course of last night.

She did not know if it was the sunlight or the cockerel which had woken her but she did not care. She was too busy taking in the sight of a sleeping Clark, lying next to her with a subtle smile on his face.

This peaceful, idyllic scene was soon destroyed by the arrival of an 80lb golden retriever on the bed.

"Shelby." Clark muttered. "Get off the bed."

The dog did as he was told and lay at the side of the bed. Clark looked across at a laughing Lois. "I guess he wants out." she suggested.

"Well it is late." Clark looked at his watch which told him it was after 8am. "I better go and let him out."

"You are coming back up, are you?" she asked seductively.

He smiled back, leant over and kissed her. "You can bet on it."

He got up, and grabbed his tee before heading off with Shelby following behind him, wagging his tail.

Five minutes later, he came back with two cups of coffee. "I was going to cook a full breakfast but I figured you would miss me too much." he said as he climbed back on the bed.

Lois sat up. "I have already missed you. Did you sort Shelby out?"

"Yeah, he is out in the paddock having a run. He should be fine for a while." Clark smiled and kissed her.

It was almost 10am by the time they made it downstairs. Lois had promised to cook Clark breakfast but luckily he had convinced her he only wanted cereal. Lois and flammable substances did not mix.

"So what do you want to do today?" he asked when they were sat down eating.

"Apart from the obvious." she grinned. "Why don't we go for a drive or a walk. It is such a lovely day."

"So does this mean, we are officially an item?"

"I don't know how you can ask that after last night." she remarked, grabbing his hand.

"So we agree to break it off with...I don't know his name." Clark stuttered.

"Yeah, I will go and see him tonight."

"Why not ring him?" Clark asked with a sudden hint of jealousy in his voice. "I am sure he will be gutted either way."

"It is not that straightforward. I still don't have his cell number." Lois explained, realising how strange that sounded.

"No, I can relate to that. I will head into town and tell my ex as well." he smiled, wondering how she would take it, especially since they had made out on the previous two meetings.

" How did you meet her by the way?" Lois asked curiously.

"We sort of bumped into one another one night."

"What does she do?"

Clark became defensive. "Does it matter? She is my past now. We never got really serious anyway."

Lois did not appreciate his snappiness. "I only asked Clark."

"Sorry...I have just never dumped anyone before."

"You have...you dumped Lana after that run in with Simone." Lois fired back, smiling.

"I suppose that is true but it does not make it easier. Anyway, if you must know, I don't know what she does. We have never talked about it. How about your ex?"

"He is sort of like a police officer." she bent the truth.

Clark suddenly had a worrying thought. He had told Stiletto a lot of his secrets. He suddenly had a flash from Fatal Attraction where the bunny got cooked. What if she tried to get revenge for dumping her.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. He could see Chloe through the window.

He went over and answered it.

"Clark, I am sorry but to bother you. I am worried about Lois. She did not come...home." She saw Lois sitting at the table. "Oh I see she has found another home. Is this what it looks like?" Chloe asked hopefully.

"Yes, cuz." Lois had the biggest grin on her face. "Come in! I would love a chat."

Clark sighed. "I will go and do some chores and leave you two for an hour." he knew exactly what women were like when they got chatting.

As soon as Clark disappeared, Chloe looked over at her blushing cousin. "So I take it that you and Clark had a good night."

"Amazing...Chloe. Who would have thought a farmboy could be so...versatile." Lois said too much, leaving Chloe a matching shade of red.

"That is far too much information." Chloe exclaimed in horror.

Lois smiled. "Sorry, but I just couldn't help myself. I think I am in love. All I need to do is break the news to..."

"To who?" Chloe pried.

"Don't shout at me. I have been seeing the Blur." Lois admitted.

Chloe tried to act surprised. "The Blur..., well that's a shock."

"He is amazing, Chloe. He is so selfless and caring, putting his life on the line for people he doesn't know." Lois gushed without realising it.

"You still have feelings for him., don't you?" Chloe asked.

"No, I love Clark. It is different with the Blur. I think I am in awe of him rather than anything deeper. I will tell him tonight that we cannot continue to see each other." she replied, confident she was making the right decision.

Meanwhile out in the barn, Clark was rehearsing his break up speech.


	6. Chapter 6

"Chloe, I thought you said you did not want more information." Lois laughed as they sat and drank coffee in the Talon.

"I lied. I am thrilled that you and Clark finally got your act together. I was beginning to think it would never happen."

"I was surprised that Clark wanted to go and see Oliver. I did not know men confided as much as women."

"You're kidding, right! Jimmy is one of the worst gossips I know." Chloe laughed. "To be honest I think Clark just wanted an excuse to stay away from us two in case we embarrassed him."

Lois smiled. "and both of us know how easy it is to embarrass him."

Chloe grinned.

"What I should tell the Blur tonight?" Lois asked changing the subject.

"Just tell him that you love someone else. I am sure he will understand."

"How do you know?" Lois asked, as something in her voice made her suspicious.

"I don't..." she lied.

Lois decided to drop it, wondering what Clark and Oliver were talking about.

In Metropolis, Clark was pacing up and down Oliver's penthouse. "What should I say to Stiletto?"

"The truth would be a good start." his friend quipped. "She will understand. I mean, you do think Lois is the one for you."

"Of course. I love her but...I feel some sort of weird connection to Stiletto that is hard to ignore." Clark announced puzzled by his feelings.

"I don't have a crystal ball but I guarantee by the end of the night, things will be clearer." Oliver replied cryptically.

"Ok..." Clark raised a brief smile and then thought about his new relationship with Lois. "She is amazing isn't she?"

"You two are meant to be. I knew at the wedding that you would end up together once you gave up on the ghost of Lana."

"I know...I have not treated Lois very well over the past few months. I should never have ran back to Lana."

Oliver patted his shoulder. "I think you have learnt from your mistakes and maybe you needed that one last fling with Lana to realise you weren't meant to be."

"I think I will head back to Smallville now and see what Lois is up to." He smiled as he drove back home.

The smell of burnt food welcomed him back. He smiled that Lois had obviously gone to the bother of cooking for him even though the results were as expected.

He walked in on a very flustered Lois. "Sorry Clark, I did not want you to walk in on my disaster."

"Lois, I am not dating you for your cooking. Let me help you." He grabbed the tray of cookies out of her hand.

"Thanks."

He put the tray down and wiped some of the cookie dough off her cheek before kissing her gently. He licked the dough off his finger.

"That tastes delicious." he remarked.

"You know, there is some more dough left." she told him with a strange look on her face.

"Do you want me to help you cook them?" Clark asked naively trying to be helpful.

"Who said anything about cooking" She grabbed the bowl and Clark's hand.

Lois woke up. There was chocolate everywhere. She left Clark asleep and headed for the shower. It was getting dark and she needed to head into the city to confront the Blur. At least she had been able to keep her mind off breaking the news to him.

When she got out the shower, she noticed Clark was awake. "Do you want to come back to bed?" he asked boldly.

"I can't" she replied disappointedly. "You know we both need to deal with...you know who."

He sighed knowing she was right.

Lois headed back to the Talon to get ready and headed into town. She agreed to meet Clark back at the farm by midnight. She just hoped the Blur was not too busy to have the conversation with. By 9pm, she was in Metropolis by the phone box, pacing up and down nervously.

He did not appear immediately making her even more anxious. She was worried he would not appear as she had stood him up the previous night. But she needn't had worried, as she felt a familiar gust of wind and the sensation of her feet leaving the ground.

"Hi." the Blur said with a definite stutter in his voice.

"Hi." Lois replied back, puzzled by the distance he put between them, as he walked towards the opposite side of the roof.

Clark was worried that Stiletto would try and instigate something and he did not want to hurt her by pushing her off, so he walked away from her.

"I am sorry about last night." she said. "But something happened last night, which has changed things for me."

He was going to say the same thing but she held her hand up to stop him. "Could you hear me out? This is going to be difficult for me to say, and I have rehearsed all day...well maybe not all day." sh e was starting to go off topic.

"Ok, then I have something to say to you."

The seriousness in his voice worried her. Was he going to declare his love for her or something. She knew she had to tell him before he had a chance to.

"Ok, before I start...the last week has been...nice and I feel honored that you chose me to open up to. It must have taken a lot for you to do that. Well...I have this friend, who I have known for the past four years and..." She stopped for a moment.

Clark could not work out where this was going.

"Anyway...we hated each other at first and could not be in the same room as each other without bickering."

"Sounds familiar." he commented, thinking of Lois and his friendship at the beginning.

She continued. "Looking back I think there was a spark between us from the beginning but he was not interested. He could not see past his high-school girlfriend." Lois started to fiddle with her mask, suddenly she realised what she needed to do.

"Before I continue, I need you to know that I am a fraud. I am not some superhero. I became Stiletto in the hope that I could meet and talk to you. I suppose as time went on, it became so much more than story..."

"So you are a journalist?" he asked. "Why didn't you just ask for an interview? You did not need to put your life a risk for a story."

"Come on..." she laughed, "There is no way, I would have scored a one on one with you if I had not donned the mask. Anyway I hate to disappoint you but I am not some hot shot reporter more like a intern at the Daily Planet."

Clark felt hot all of a sudden, the realisation hitting him like a freight train. No wonder he had felt attracted to her...this was the woman who could make his heart race like no one else had, and she had been right under his nose all this time.

Lois noticed his change of expression. "I am so sorry that I tricked you. I can see you are mad. I just wanted you to know that I am not hero." As she said those last few words, she pulled off her mask and voice modulator.

Clark looked at her wanting to reveal himself to her. "Now I know what you look like, I think it is only fair that I do the same." he reached for his hood, but before he could remove it...she ran up and pulled his hand away.

"Please don't. I don't want you to reveal yourself to me. I do not deserve to be the first one to know. Please let me finish my story and you will understand why."

He nodded and sat down next to her, waiting for the rest of her tale. "Go on..."

"My name is Lois Lane, if you are wondering. Eh...now where was I? Oh yeah. So I was saying about this man. Over the year or so, my feelings for him have become much deeper and I thought we would end up together a few months ago, but then his ex girlfriend came back and put a stop to that."

Lois was becoming upset. "I need to get to the point."

Clark put his hand on hers. "Just take your time. I want to hear the rest."

"To cut a long story... in the past few days, we have finally admitted our true feelings to each other, and I am in love with him. I know I had no right to use you the way I did but I was so confused. I hope you can forgive me." She pleaded with him. "Ok, tell me what you are thinking."

His heart skipped a beat when said she loved him. "Ok, I have three things I want to say." he announced taking a deep breath.

"Firstly...I am not angry with you, how could I be." he said softly. "Secondly I never hated you all those years ago." he could see her face changing as he said those last words. "And finally and most importantly, I love you Lois and I will never feel this way about anyone else..." With that he ripped his hood off, revealing himself.

Lois felt faint but steadied herself. "Clark...what..." she stammered, the confusion and shock registering on her face.

Her confusion suddenly turned to anger. "You're the Blur." she got up to walk away, but he was not going to let her. "Lois, you need to listen. Why are you angry?"

She started to pound his chest with frustration. "Let me go. How could you act as though you did not know who I was all this time."

"I promise...up until a few moments ago, I did not know who Stiletto was."

"And you expect me to believe that when you told me the other day about your x-ray vision. You would have scanned me the moment we met. I was not born yesterday."

"I did scan you, Lois. But your mask is lead lined so I could not see through it."

She calmed a little. "Oliver made it."

They both realised what was going on, slightly lessening the tension between them. Clark was the first to comment.

"Lois, did you ever have a feeling that someone has been pulling the strings behind the scenes." he suggested.

"Guess we were just puppets in the grander scheme of things. I have a feeling that Oliver is not working alone."

"Anyway...let's get back to the important stuff. Lois, can we talk?" Clark asked, trying to act whilst Lois was calm.

She tried to get mad at him again but then she saw the apologetic look on his face. "Ok,.."

"Firstly I am so relieved that you are Stiletto because it explains why I was so drawn to her. I think that proves we are meant to be together. I know it is asking a lot with everything that has gone on but I would love it if we can give it a go."

Lois listened to his every word. "Clark, I love you. I never had a problem with the Blur's unique heritage so why should it change my feelings for you. It is not everyday a girl finds out her boyfriend is an intergalactic superhero." she smiled, and hugged him.

"I was going to tell you." he explained.

"I know you would have. I guess I am not the only one knows...Chloe and Oliver obviously have some insider knowledge."

"Yeah they do."

Lois thought for a moment. "You know it is kind of weird, but knowing about your secret has suddenly made a lot of things fall into the place. I guess that barn door was not a weather anomaly." she grinned.

"No, I had a cold and sneezed."

"And I could help but notice the looks between you and parents when I entered the room sometimes."

"You probably interrupted some heavy discussions. I did not make things easy for my parents over the years." Clark explained.

"I am sure they would have gone through it all again for you." she offered. "As I have told the Blur...you I mean. God, this is so confusing. You are a hero, Clark and I cannot believe how lucky I am that you let me in."

He placed his hand under her chin, and lifted it up, kissing her passionately. "You are amazing, Lo, and I am sorry for all the upset I have caused you over the past few months."

She kissed him back. "Let's just concentrate on the present for the time being. What happened in the past...is well...in the past." she laughed.

He suddenly became distracted.

"Clark, if you need to go and rescue someone, just go. I will be here waiting when you get back."

He shook his head. "It is not that. I think we were right to be suspicious about Oliver having an accomplice. Don't look, but Green Arrow and Chloe are on a roof top behind us. They obviously couldn't miss the show."

"Let's give them a show they will never forget." Lois started to whisper a plan in his ear.

Oliver and Chloe high fived each other on the nearby roof top as they saw Clark speed off into the night with Lois.

"It worked!" Chloe announced excitedly,

"Mission complete." her partner in crime replied.

"By the looks of it, we won't be seeing those two for a few days." she commented.

Oliver smiled. "Guess not!"

Next morning, Chloe headed downstairs at the Talon to get her coffee before driving to ISIS. She wondered if Lois would bunk off today to spend the day with Clark, but her question was soon answered when she found Lois sitting at one of the booths.

"Lois, what are you doing here?" she asked, concerned by the forlorn look on her cousin's face.

Lois looked up but did not smile. "I am waiting for you. Is it is ok to grab a lift into Metropolis."

"But I thought..." Chloe replied, but then stopped. She did not want Lois to discover that she was spying on her and Clark last night.

"Thought what?"

"Nothing...hmm...I was just wondering what happened with the Blur last night. Did he take it ok?"

"Don't act all innocent." Lois snapped. "You knew Clark was the Blur and you let me make a fool of myself."

Chloe was confused. "I thought that it would have gone ok. Are you having trouble dealing with his double identity? You must understand that I needed to protect his secret."

Lois sat back. "I know. Sorry Chloe. It's just everything has gone pear shaped. I had no problem accepting his deception and he was fine with me being Stiletto but..." Lois paused.

"But what?" Chloe probed.

"The spark has gone..." Lois announced with obvious devastation in her face.

"What spark?"

"You know between Clark and me. He is not attracted to me. He admitted it must have been the mystery of Stiletto and her outfit that attracted him to her, or me..."

"But Lois, you got together before he knew you were Stiletto." Chloe replied.

"Yeah but he told me that he was thinking about Stiletto the other night when...you know." she went bright red, her eyes moist from the forming tears.

Chloe just sat there with her mouth gaping open. "Clark would never say that."

"Ask him!" Lois replied. "He is at the farm at the moment."

Chloe stood up determined to give him a piece of her mind. "Lois, you take my car. I will text him and tell him to pick me up. He needs to hear some home truths."

Lois looked at her. "Do you think it will work?" she whimpered.

Clark looked sheepish when he pulled outside the Talon to see an obviously very mad Chloe waiting for him.

"So what's going on?" Chloe asked.

"Nice to see you too." he replied sarcastically. "Get out the wrong side of bed this morning?" Clark asked, only worsening her mood.

"Why are you doing it Clark. You're under the influence of Red K, aren't you? Lois is devastated."

"So this is what all this is about! And for your information, I am not under the influence of anything."

"How could you tell Lois that you were not attracted to her, only to Stiletto?"

"Chloe, she asked...and after all the secrets and lies I went through with Lana, I felt honesty was the best policy. I cannot change how I feel. I mean Stiletto had a killer body in that leather suit."

"But it was Lois and she still has the body." Chloe suggested annoyed.

"Well I did ask if she was willing to put the suit on again, but she just got upset." he smiled.

"You are on Red K."

"I'm not...honestly." he replied.

"In that case you won't mind coming to ISIS so we can scan you. Oliver is meeting us there."

"Chloe, why are you interfering? This has nothing to do with you. It is between me and Lois." he announced.

The trip to ISIS was an oddly quiet one. Oliver was already logged into the system when they arrived. "I think we are all set."

Chloe watched as she waited for the machine to alarm, but it never did. "My god, you are not kidding are you?"

"I told you, but you wouldn't listen." Clark smiled knowingly.

Before Chloe answered they were interrupted by the arrival of Lois.

"Hi Lo." Clark said, smiling. She walked over and kissed him.

Chloe and Oliver just looked at one another. "What the hell?"

Clark looked at Lois. "I'll let you explain."

"I cannot believe you guys fell for it." Lois started to giggle, waiting for their charade to register on their faces.

"Fell for what?" Oliver asked.

"We saw you on the roof yesterday, and worked out that you had been pulling the strings all along." Clark explained. "So we thought we would get out own back."

"I thought it was out of character for you, Clark, but you seemed so convincing." Chloe exclaimed.

"I hate to tell you guys but we were not the main instigator of the grand plan. A certain Senator in Washington may have contributed as well." Oliver announced.

"Mom! I guess we will have to pay her a visit." Clark replied. "Anyway we'd better get back to work."

As Lois and Clark walked along the street towards the Planet, she turned to him. "Chloe told me that you wanted to ask me to dress up as Stiletto again. I am sure that can be arranged as long as you reciprocate."

"I don't think I will look very good in tight leather." he joked.

"That was not what I meant." she smiled. "But to be honest I think you could rock that look."

He turned and looked at her, and wondered what he had just got himself into...

THE END


End file.
